Box for dispensing pre-cut wiping materials

ABSTRACT

A packaging box for pre-cut wipe material comprises a base, side and end walls, an upper flap with attachment tabs, the upper flap having a directly formed cutting member to cut the material stored in the packaging box, and an intermediate articulated flap comprising, on its upper visible face, at least one curved protruding shape with, at its end, a longitudinal bulge which ensures guidance of the material as it emerges from inside the box. The width of the intermediate flap is less than the width of the box in order to allow the strip of material to emerge, and the upper flap has an inner face with at least one curved shape which matches at least the shape on the intermediate flap, said shapes allowing the strip of material to emerge so that it can be cut along the perforation line on the strip.

The invention relates to the technical field of machines and equipmentfor dispensing wipe, hand-wipe, general-purpose wipe, handkerchief andpaper-towel materials.

The packaging of wipe materials in paperboard boxes is widely known.Such boxes (1) shown in FIG. 1, by way of example, have a parallelepipedshape and, on their upper face (1 a), have a closed oval or similarshaped perforation line (1 b) which makes provision for defining anopening after removing seal (2). These boxes make it possible to grasppieces of cut interleaved folded strips (B) of material (FIG. 1 a). Thistechnique is widespread for handkerchiefs and hand wipes. The essentialproblem with this technique is the cost of manufacturing and formattingthe finished products which are handkerchiefs, tissues and similar itemsand of interleaving them. These products are manufactured in strips ortrimmed sizes, cut to the desired size, folded and interleaved so thatthey can be grasped one by one, thereby obtaining partial exposure ofthe next piece so that it too can be grasped. Because these packagedproducts are very competitively priced, low-margin products, the qualityof interleaving must be impeccable.

Packaging boxes for rolls of aluminium foil, for example, which have, ontheir upper flap, a serrated part which enables the user to tear off astrip of material of the required size which is appropriate to needs areknown. In this case, the packaging box is directly produced in a singleoperation with the serrated area and the box is then folded.

The Applicant's approach was therefore to come up with a new concept forpackaging boxes which are suitable for pre-cut, folded and interleavedwipe materials or wipe materials on a reel.

The devised solution is simple and enables the packaging box to bemanufactured in a single operation using classic carton-industry cuttingand formatting tools. The packaging box according to the invention canbe made of paperboard carton material or, alternatively, of plastic.

According to a first aspect, the packaging box for pre-cut wipe materialis of the type comprising a base, end and side walls, an upper flapdesigned with attachment tabs, the upper flap having a directly formedmeans making it possible to cut the material stored in the packagingcharacterised in that it comprises an intermediate articulated flapcomprising, on its upper visible face, at least one curved protrudingshape with, at its end, a longitudinal bulge which ensures guidance ofthe material as it emerges from inside the box and in that the width ofthe intermediate flap is less than the width of the box in order toallow the strip of material to emerge and in that the upper flap has aninner face with at least one curved shape which matches at least theshape on the intermediate flap, said shapes allowing the strip ofmaterial to emerge so that it can be cut along the perforation line onthe strip.

These aspects and others will become apparent from the followingdescription.

The invention is explained below in greater detail, reference being madeto the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view of a packaging box according to the prior art

FIG. 1 a shows the positioning of the pieces of strips of materialarranged and stored in the box in FIG. 1

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the packaging box according to theinvention.

FIG. 2 a is a view showing the pre-cut strip of material

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the packaging box according to theinvention with the upper flap, which forms a lid, raised.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the inside of the packaging box according tothe invention when it is laid out flat.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the outside of the packaging box according tothe invention when it is laid out flat.

FIG. 6 a is a view of an alternative embodiment of the means which makeit possible to format the strip of material.

FIG. 6 b is a schematic view showing how the strip of material passesthrough the shapes shown in FIG. 6.

In order that the present invention may more readily be understood, thefollowing description is given, merely by way of example, referencebeing made to the accompanying drawings.

The packaging box according to the invention is referred to in itsentirety by 10. It has a parallelepiped shape and can be made of anymaterial, paperboard, plastic or similar materials. In a known manner,it comprises a base (10 a), side walls (10 b), end walls (10 c) with oneor two flaps as well as a lid (10 d) which is articulated relative toone of the above-mentioned side walls (10 b). The latter also comprisefolding tabs (10 e) and the base (10 a) may comprise slits (10 f) inorder to fit the positioning tabs (10 g) formed as an extension of endwalls (10 c). This description of a packaging box is merely by way of anexample of the invention.

According to the invention, the packaging box comprises an articulatedintermediate flap (10 h) comprising, on its visible upper face, at leastone protruding curved shape (10 m) and, at its end, a longitudinal bulge(10 n) which ensures guidance of the material (P) as it emerges frominside the box. The width of intermediate flap (10 h) is less than thewidth of the box in order to allow the strip of material to emerge, thelatter being folded and interleaved or wound on a reel. The upper flap(10 d) is designed, according to the invention, with, on its inner face,at least one curved shape (10 p) which matches the shape (10 m) formedon the intermediate flap.

Shapes (10 p) and (10 m) are concentric and there is a space betweenthem in order to guide the strip of material and remove it.

In the version shown in FIGS. 6 a and 6 b, intermediate flap (10 h) andupper flap (10 d) forming a lid are each arranged with several curvedshapes (10 m) and (10 p) respectively which nest in each otheralternately in order to leave room for the strip of material to passthrough if the latter is thick and in order to improve the tensioning ofthe strip. These protruding shapes (10 m) (10 p) with matching outlinesare preferably produced at the time the box is actually manufactured.The reader is also reminded that the upper flap which forms a lid has,at each of its ends, two opposite-facing tabs (10 s) which define,between them, a space through which the strip of material can pass andemerge. These tabs have a slanting profile in order to make it easier toload the material and separate the pieces. Quick-attachment means (11)are thus established on these tabs (10 s) and also on the frontside-wall (10 p) of the packaging box.

Without extending beyond the scope of the invention, support stops whichare not shown can be provided internally, for instance on the innerwalls of tabs (10 c) by deformation, stamping or other methods in orderto limit the travel of intermediate flap (10 h) so as to preserve aperfect combination and match between shapes (10 m-10 p) in order tomove and guide the material.

The packaging box according to the invention is very inexpensive tomanufacture. Manufacturing the pre-cut strip is less expensive than thecost incurred in the case of the product shown in FIG. 1. The packagingbox can be disposable if necessary.

1. Packaging box for pre-cut wipe material, comprising a base, sidewalls, end walls, an upper flap with attachment tabs, the upper flaphaving a directly formed cutting member to cut the material stored inthe packaging box, an intermediate articulated flap comprising, on anupper visible face, at least one curved protruding shape with, at anend, a longitudinal bulge which ensures guidance of the material as itemerges from inside the box, wherein width of the intermediate flap isless than width of the box in order to allow the strip of material toemerge and the upper flap has an inner face with at least one curvedshape which matches at least the shape on the intermediate flap, saidshapes allowing the strip of material to emerge so that the material canbe cut along a perforation line on the strip.
 2. Packaging box asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the intermediate flap and upper flap areeach arranged with several curved shapes, respectively, which nest ineach other alternately.
 3. Packaging box as claimed in claim 2, whereinthe protruding shape and the curved shape with matching outlines areproduced at the time the box is actually manufactured.
 4. Packaging boxas claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper flap forms a lid and has, ateach of its ends, two opposite-facing tabs which define, between them, aspace through which the strip of material can pass and emerge, and thetabs have a slanting inner profile in order to make it easier to loadthe material and separate pieces and quick-attachment means establishedon the tabs (10 s) and on a front end-wall of the packaging box. 5.Packaging box as claimed in claim 1, further comprising internallyprovided support stops on walls of the tabs to limit travel of theintermediate flap so as to preserve a match between the protrudingshapes and the curved shape in order to move and guide the material.